Cantor amasses cash for re-election bid

By Mason Brown, Capital News Service

05/24/12

Forget David and Goliath. In the money race in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, it’s Wayne and Eric.

Democrat Wayne Powell is challenging incumbent Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican majority leader in the U.S. House. From a campaign- finance standpoint, it’s not much of a contest: Cantor has 58 times more money on hand than Powell does.

Cantor, who has represented the Richmond-area district since 2001, has more than $2.2 million cash on hand. That’s far more than any other candidate for the U.S. House in Virginia. It’s almost as much as the state’s 18 Democratic congressional candidates hold collectively. (They have a combined $2.5 million.) And that’s just the cash on hand.

Only three House candidates – all of them Republican incumbents – have raised more money than Cantor: House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio (nearly $15 million); Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota (about the same, which also funded her presidential bid); and Rep. Allen West of Florida (nearly $8 million).

Powell has raised only $66,000 so far.

Powell, a Midlothian lawyer who calls himself a progressive Democrat, has about $38,000 on hand. That could put him at a distinct disadvantage against Cantor’s deep pockets.

In an election year when the top of the ticket – the presidential race – could be close, money will play a large role in elections, according to Joseph Bafumi, a government professor at Dartmouth College.

“Money is very important … If there were a strong tide going towards the Democratic ticket, that would give Powell a better shot – that or if Cantor were to be embroiled in some enormous scandal. However, looking at this election, it looks like it will be a very likely victory for Cantor,” Bafumi said.

Bafumi said some candidates who have lost the fundraising battle have managed to win election, but that tends to happen when other factors are in play.

In 2006, for example, public disapproval of the Iraq war helped elect a Democratic majority in Congress, and in 2010, the tea party movement helped Republicans recapture the House.

This year, Congress’ approval rating is at an all-time low – 17percent, according to the Gallup Poll. The state of the economy will play a key role in November’s elections, Bafumi said. The success of the Democratic ticket depends a lot on what President Obama does between now and then.

“It’s tight now, and a lot depends on the economy … If it improves, it could improve Obama’s curtails,” Bafumi said.

In April, Democrats in the 7th District nominated Powell, a retired Army colonel, to take on Cantor. Before getting his party’s blessing, Powell said he expected his nomination to open the doors for more fundraising.

“Money is an issue in every campaign,” Powell said. “By June or July, I expect to have substantially more money – in excess of a million dollars with promises for more.”

It is unclear how Powell’s fundraising has fared since he got the nomination. The campaign finance reports on the Federal Elections Commission’s website are current through March.

As of March 31, Powell had received about 560 itemized individual donations totaling $37,000. (On his FEC filings, he listed contributions as small as $1.)

About 74 percent of Cantor’s individual donations have come from outside Virginia, according to an analysis of FEC data by Capital News Service. For Powell, the figure is 30 percent.

Cantor and Powell’s contributions differ in another significant way – funding from political action committees.

Powell has received only $600 in PAC contributions – 1 percent of his total contributions.

By contrast, Cantor has received 634 contributions from PACs, totaling $1.7 million – one-third of his war chest. Forty-three PACs have given the maximum $10,000 to Cantor’s congressional campaign. They included the committees for Altria, Anheuser-Busch and Comcast. Cantor also received big donations from the PACs representing the National Rifle Association, News America/Fox and various financial and health-care interests.

Cantor’s fundraising has grown since his initial run for the House a dozen years ago.

In 2002, Cantor raised just over $1 million. That number has increased every election since; for the 2009-10 election cycle, he raised nearly $6 million. (His main Democratic challenger then, Rick Waugh, raised less than $150,000.)

The five industry sectors that have donated the most to Cantor are finance, real estate, insurance, pharmaceuticals and health, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finance.

Two years later, Perriello lost to GOP nominee Robert Hurt, even though Hurt raised about $1.2 million less than Perriello. Bafumi said campaign funding helps candidates reach voters. More money can mean a larger campaign staff, more television commercials, more mailings to voters and other strategies to win on Election Day.

St. Joseph's Villa’s Flagler Housing & Homeless Services was one of three entities to earn the National Alliance to End Homelessness' Champion of Change Award. The awards were presented Nov. 17 during a ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Flagler completed its transition from an on-campus shelter to the community-based model of rapid rehousing in 2013, and it was one of the nation's first rapid re-housing service providers to be certified by NAEH. > Read more.

Richmond International Raceway's 13th annual Community Christmas tree lighting has been rescheduled from Dec. 6 to Monday, Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m., due to inclement weather expected on the original date.

Entertainment Dec. 12 will be provided by the Laburnum Elementary School choir and the Henrico High School Mighty Marching Warriors band. Tree decorations crafted by students from Laburnum Elementary School and L. Douglas Wilder Middle School will be on display. Hot chocolate and cookies will be supplied by the Henrico High School football boosters. > Read more.

It’s going to be a cold weekend so if you’re headed out to the James River Parade of Lights or the Richmond Road Runners Club Toy Run 5K in Innsbrook, you’d better bundle up! If you’re looking for some indoor ways to celebrate the holidays, check out Three-Penny Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story for Christmas” or “To Drive the Cold Winter Away: An Irish Celebration of the Returning Light” at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Glen Allen. Also this weekend – the Henrico Theatre will show the holiday classic “Home Alone." For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

Classifieds

Calendar

Oak Hall Baptist Church, 1877 Old Hanover Rd. in Sandston, will host Breakfast with Santa from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Enjoy pancakes and bacon for breakfast, followed by story time, pictures with Santa, games, a mission project and crafts. All are welcome. The event is free. For details, call 737-5812 or visit http://www.oakhallbc.org.
Full text